]]>https://multiplyjustice.net/2017/07/27/the-economics-of-neighborly-love/feed/0markkellyReview: ‘White Awake’ by Daniel Whitehttps://multiplyjustice.net/2017/05/16/review-white-awake-by-daniel-white/
https://multiplyjustice.net/2017/05/16/review-white-awake-by-daniel-white/#respondTue, 16 May 2017 21:52:53 +0000http://multiplyjustice.net/?p=3196White Awake: An honest look at what it means to be whiteDaniel Hill (Intervarsity Press, September 2017)

I’ll admit to a certain degree of resistance to this book. One can reasonably be weary of self-righteous pronouncements about “white privilege” from quarters of our society where people don’t seem to understand the difference between justice and revenge. It makes sense to discount critiques from people whose ideology is based on a faulty worldview.

At the same time, you can’t ignore the reluctance of many “whites” to acknowledge – much less discuss – the systemic aspects of injustice in this country. It’s hard to take seriously complaints about “reverse racism” from people who are ignorant of the atrocities that created today’s circumstances of poverty and inequality. People who aren’t struggling every day with poverty and injustice let themselves off the hook too easily when the question “What should I do?” arises.

Both “white folks” and “people of color” can benefit from this book. Daniel Hill takes a stand between the strident voices complaining about “white guilt” and the complacent yawns or (worse) angry condemnations of those who think they bear no personal responsibility for either past atrocities or current injustices.

The heart of the book for me is when Hill quotes Mark Charles quoting Georges Erasmus: “Where common memory is lacking, where people do not share in the same past, there can be no real community. Where community is to be formed, common memory must be created.” Once you get past the book’s opening personal testimony and the necessary lecture about cultural identity, Hill journeys through an insightful and helpful discussion about cross-cultural friendship, denial of injustice, the disorientation that comes with awakening, dealing with shame, the problem of self-righteousness in regard to “bad” people, seven markers of racial awakening, and practical suggestions for changing the status quo.

The cause of Kingdom justice is being harmed by both strident voices and complacent yawns. But we don’t have to buy into someone else’s ideology or political agenda to acknowledge that the status quo in our communities doesn’t begin to approach God’s Kingdom design. We ignore at our own peril the fact that God requires his people to open their ears to the cries of the poor and oppressed, love compassion, and do justice. Let Daniel Hill talk with you about serious issues with which we need to come to terms.

* I apologize for the quotation marks. So much of the conversation on the subject deals in stereotypes that oversimplify the complexities of these issues.

]]>https://multiplyjustice.net/2017/05/16/review-white-awake-by-daniel-white/feed/0markkellyPerpetuating poverty and hindering salvationhttps://multiplyjustice.net/2017/04/07/perpetuating-poverty-and-hindering-salvation/
https://multiplyjustice.net/2017/04/07/perpetuating-poverty-and-hindering-salvation/#commentsFri, 07 Apr 2017 22:42:08 +0000http://multiplyjustice.net/?p=3194If we believe salvation is more than securing our destiny in the next life,

If we believe the gospel is for the whole person, not just his spirit,

If we believe redemption is of the entirety of a person’s being and circumstances, in this life as well as the next,

then what about the assertion that much of the “help” we give to people in chronic poverty actually keeps them trapped in poverty and dependence, rather than moving them toward self-sufficiency and prosperity?

And what about those who manipulate good-hearted people to escape the hard work of supporting themselves?

And what about those who don’t have to face their own brokenness because they can count on others to enable them with money, food, and housing?

If you claim a holistic theology of salvation, how is your “help that hurts” not actually hindering that person’s salvation?

]]>https://multiplyjustice.net/2017/04/07/perpetuating-poverty-and-hindering-salvation/feed/1markkellyIs this what happened to the Anglo church in America?https://multiplyjustice.net/2016/10/29/is-this-what-happened-to-the-anglo-church-in-america/
https://multiplyjustice.net/2016/10/29/is-this-what-happened-to-the-anglo-church-in-america/#respondSat, 29 Oct 2016 17:28:58 +0000http://multiplyjustice.net/?p=3190Deuteronomy 8 speaks to America’s comfortable Christians by what the Lord said to Israel after bringing the people to the good land:

— God led the people through a great and terrifying wilderness experience, where they often were hungry. Yet he provided for them and brought them into a wealthy land. (vv.15,7-9)

— God’s purpose in the trial was to humble the people and test their character to find out whether they would obey his commands. (v.2)

— When the people arrived in the good land, they were encouraged to praise God and never say to themselves that they had achieved such wealth by their own strength. They were to remember the Lord is the one who gives them the power to succeed. (vv.10,17-18)

— But the Lord warned them to be careful: “Beware that in your plenty you do not become proud and forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands ….” (v.11,14)

— And the Lord explained what happens to the proud: if you refuse to obey the Lord your God, if you forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, you will certainly be destroyed. (vv.19-20)

— God’s people, then, were called to obey the Lord’s commands “by walking in his ways and fearing him.” (v.6)

The Anglo church in America became wealthy, by God’s grace. We began to believe we had done it in our own strength. We began to worship the gods of our Egypt and forgot the Lord who gave us the strength by which we succeeded. We focused so much on the love of God that we forgot his fearsome majesty and blazing holiness. We no longer have any idea what it means to walk in God’s ways and to fear him. And all the organizations we have built, all the programs we have designed — everything teeters on the brink of collapse.

Our preachers call for repentance, and certainly we need to repent, but we need more than that. We need to recover the healthy fear of God and learn once again how to walk in his ways. We need not just repentance but also to learn how to produce the fruit that goes with repentance. (Matthew 21.33-43)

We need a revival of making disciples who obey their Lord by doing justice, loving mercy, and walking in humility before Almighty God. The Lord is going to destroy everything else.

]]>https://multiplyjustice.net/2016/10/29/is-this-what-happened-to-the-anglo-church-in-america/feed/0markkellyQ Ideas: ‘The Insanity of God’ book and moviehttps://multiplyjustice.net/2016/08/23/q-ideas-the-insanity-of-god-book-and-movie/
https://multiplyjustice.net/2016/08/23/q-ideas-the-insanity-of-god-book-and-movie/#respondTue, 23 Aug 2016 22:00:33 +0000http://multiplyjustice.net/?p=3188“The Insanity of God” book and movie offer a much-needed glimpse into a reality of following Jesus.

]]>https://multiplyjustice.net/2016/08/23/q-ideas-the-insanity-of-god-book-and-movie/feed/0markkellyWhat a Gospel-centered SJW looks likehttps://multiplyjustice.net/2016/06/08/what-a-gospel-centered-sjw-looks-like/
https://multiplyjustice.net/2016/06/08/what-a-gospel-centered-sjw-looks-like/#respondWed, 08 Jun 2016 14:03:53 +0000http://multiplyjustice.net/?p=3185At the Justice Conference in Chicago on June 4, Russell Moore laid out what it looks like to be a Gospel-centered social justice warrior, tackling issues ranging from racial injustice, human trafficking, and refugees to the sanctity of unborn life, sexual ethics, and the reality of Hell.

Brian Fikkert writes on Radical.net that the lie of American culture is that human flourishing can be achieved through greater consumption of material things, so we try to alleviate poverty by increasing economic growth. But human beings are created for relationship, not consumption. The selfish pursuit of ever-increasing levels of consumption is absolutely devastating American society.

I don’t expect much of lost souls. We should not be surprised by animosity, violence, and corruption. But believers in Christ are brothers and sisters, regardless of superficial differences. We have no excuse for racial distinctions between us. We are not allowed to go our separate ways; God has assigned us to work together in his mission of reconciliation. We are obligated to pursue healing between us and must seek justice in our society.

]]>https://multiplyjustice.net/2015/01/01/we-must-pursue-racial-healing-and-justice/feed/0markkellySocial justice and the Missionhttps://multiplyjustice.net/2014/09/24/social-justice-and-the-mission/
https://multiplyjustice.net/2014/09/24/social-justice-and-the-mission/#respondWed, 24 Sep 2014 15:12:57 +0000http://multiplyjustice.net/?p=3158Ryan West outlines how a church can help its surrounding community, and in turn, share the good news of God’s love.

West is the national coordinator for LoveLoud at the North American Mission Board. LoveLoud is a movement of churches demonstrating God’s love by meeting significant human need while sharing Christ.

]]>https://multiplyjustice.net/2014/09/24/social-justice-and-the-mission/feed/0markkellyAre you starving for God’s justice?https://multiplyjustice.net/2014/09/22/are-you-starving-for-gods-justice/
https://multiplyjustice.net/2014/09/22/are-you-starving-for-gods-justice/#respondMon, 22 Sep 2014 14:12:36 +0000http://multiplyjustice.net/?p=3156God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for his justice; they will be completely satisfied. (Matthew 5:6)

People who are never starving or dying of thirst will be hard pressed to understand this verse. Those who heard Jesus speak the words, however, understood only too well. They very familiar with what Kenneth Bailey calls “unrelenting hunger and life-threatening thirst.”

Bailey says: “Each day, prompted by hunger and thirst, all people seek food and water, hoping to be satisfied. But for how long? A few hours later, the cravings return. This beatitude makes clear that the bless-ed are those whose drive for righteousness is as pervasive, all consuming and recurring as the daily yearning to satisfy hunger and thirst.”

Many religious people around the world believe righteousness “is no more than adherence to an ethical norm,” Bailey says. To that I would add that most American Christians have not been taught that “righteousness” and “justice” are the same side of the same coin.

Bailey points out that in the Bible, ‘righteousness’ often refers to God’s mighty acts of salvation. Mighty God acted on behalf of the weak and oppressed Hebrew children to rescue them from slavery. Today, God still does justice for people who cannot rescue themselves from captivity, who cannot ever be righteous in their own right. God gives us a new status — “declared righteous.” Bailey says living justly is our human response of gratitude for the verdict of righteousness God gives us as a free gift.

Bailey also notes that ‘righteousness’ in the Bible has nothing to do with “an absolute ideal ethical norm,” but instead is about relationship, and relationships make claims on our conduct: “The unspeakable gracious gift of acceptance in the presence of God requires the faithful to respond,” Bailey says. “The righteous person is the one who acts justly. Furthermore that justice/righteousness is not simply giving every man his due but includes showing mercy and compassion to the outcast, the oppressed, the weak, the orphan and the widow.”

Just as God helped us when we could not help ourselves, we are to help others in desperate need. The way God helped us experience profound life transformation becomes the model for us as we love our neighbors the way we love ourselves.

Bailey adds: “Jesus does not say, ‘Blessed are those who live righteously and maintain a righteous lifestyle.’ The statement presupposes that righteousness is something the faithful continuously strive after.”

Who among us has a passion for justice “as pervasive, all consuming and recurring as the daily yearning to satisfy hunger and thirst”?

And if we aren’t starving for God’s justice in the lives of our neighbors, should we be worried about our own relationship with the God who brought justice to our lives?